The Circle
by Rilaya
Summary: Maya Hart moves to Chance Harbor after her mother dies in a fire. She meets a group of five people with extraordinary abilities. Only she finds out she too is capable of the things they are. But things may be bigger than they seem. (No need to know anything about the Secret Circle to read!) (Rilaya)
1. Prologue

Maya Hart checked the time as she drove down the empty road. Seeing that it was 11:21 pm she luckily still had about 25 minutes until she needed to be home. Making up her mind about stopping by the convenient store to grab a snack, then she'd be on her way home. As she reaches over the change the radio station a car comes flying by, turning the wheel out of the way, as to not get hit, Maya hears a loud pop as the car disappears in the distance.

Groaning, Maya gets out of the car to check the tire. Examining it she can tell it is definitely popped. Shaking her head she goes to the trunk to grab the extra tire while dialing her mom's number.

"I'm gonna be a little late. I got a flat." Maya says as soon as her mom picks up.

"Are you ok? Did you call the car company?" Katy asks setting down her knife she was using to cut up fruit.

"Relax mom, I can change a tire. I'm on Oak so as soon as I'm done this I'll be home." Maya tells her with a laugh.

"I'm coming there." Katy says.

"Mom your car has a flat remember? It'll be fine, you don't even know how to change a flat." Maya says to her.

At the current Hart residence as Katy walks into the dining room, a car pulls up into the driveway.

"Fine, I'll stay but I'm not happy about it." Katy says walking back into the kitchen.

"I'll be there soon mom." Maya tells her, wanting to start the tire as soon as possible.

"Ok, don't forget to grab… Maya?" Katy says as the line starts to get static noises.

"Mom?" Maya says but the phone call ends so she shrugs and puts her phone away.

Outside the Hart house, a man stands holding a box of matches. Strike one, the stove fire grows, strike two, the wall holding the cabinets is in flames. He pulls out a bottle of water and spills it on the ground as the sink starts shooting out water.

Katy is frantically trying to stop everything that is happening, strike three, the entire kitchen is blazing. Katy slips and falls. Opening her eyes she gasps out 'Maya!'.

She starts to crawl towards the back door but as soon as she goes up to reach the handle the man strikes a dozen matches and the stove explodes, killing her.


	2. Take a Chance (Harbor)

Maya stands on a cliff looks the over the harbor below, the one she assumes is Chance Harbor, as tears roll down her face. A month, it's been a month since… since her mom had died. Maya still can't wrap her head around the fact that she's really gone, nor the fact that she has to move across the state with someone she hadn't known existed a month ago. Shawn, or as she'd been told, her Uncle Shawn, her dad's brother. She'd talked to him a lot in the past month (well, more than she thought). He'd tried to get her to fly to Washington but she'd stood her ground until now.

Looking over at the sign a few yards away, Maya took a deep breath in and tried to stop crying. The sign reads "Welcome to Chance Harbor". The sign proved that all of this was real. She really was moving in with someone she barely knew, she was going to start a new school, and she really only had one duffel bag worth of belongings. She climbs into her car and turns the keys to start it back up and drives away, on her way to her new home.

It only takes her fifteen more minutes to find the house. She slowly gets out and retrieves her duffel bag after parking. She's inside the front gate and halfway to the porch when the door flies open. It's the first time she has seen Shawn in person and she smiles at him as he slowly makes his way down the stairs. He takes the smile as permission and engulfs Maya in a hug so tight that she drops her bag.

"Oh my god, you look so grown up!" Shawn says when he releases her from the hug.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Shawn," Maya says, holding back tears as she notices Shawn's unshed ones.

"Come in; I'll show you where your room is gonna be," he tells her, picking up her bag and nudging her forward.

Once she's in the house, she's very impressed. She had originally thought that it was going to be old and grimy. Instead, it was much more modern than she'd anticipated. She walks over to a side table displaying little knick-knacks and picture frames and picks one up of a baby with large blue eyes.

"All the bedrooms are upstairs," she hears Shawn say, and she quickly places the photo down to follow him up the stairs along the wall. He leads her to a room that still has a lot of someone's belongings in it.

"This was your dad's room," he tells her, and then adds, "We can move everything out; I should have by now. It's been years."

"It's alright," she says setting her bag onto the bed. "So, do you have any idea why my mom never mentioned you?"

"Uh, it's been sixteen years since your dad's accident. She kind of disappeared on everyone. I think maybe it was her way of not touching a past that hurt her." Shawn's eyes mist over and he shakes his head. "I guess you should get settled, and then we can go get something for lunch."

Maya nods and sadly thinks ' _not much to get settled with'_ as she looks to her duffel bag.

Maya puts the last of her shirts into the drawer and sighs. She takes a look at the room, the bed, the dresser, the bookshelf. She shakes her head and leaves the room. She trots down the steps and calls for Shawn.

He pops out from what she thinks is the kitchen and grabs some keys out of a bowl.

"Okay, I'll be honest, Maya, there isn't much in town, but what is here is good," Shawn says once they get in the car and are headed into town.

"I'll trust you on this one," Maya says. "So, Shawn, I don't know a lot about you. What do you do?" she asks him, trying to make the silence less tense.

"Ah, I'm actually a photographer. So, I mostly work from home," he tells her. "It doesn't bring in a lot of cash, but the family has money saved from being around for so long."

"That's cool. I like to draw and paint and stuff," Maya tells him.

"You'll have to show me some of your work eventually," Shawn says enthusiastically and Maya smiles.

* * *

Later that night, Maya comes into her room wrapped in a towel when she sees the curtains open. She looks out and sees a girl with glasses sitting at a desk through the neighbor's window. The girl looks up, smiles, and waves to her. Maya gives a timid wave back and shuts the curtains. Once she has her clothes on, she looks into the mirror and notices that the curtains are open again.

"What in the…," Maya whispers, noting that the girl is gone as she shuts the curtains again.

Maya tries to forget about it and she starts to hum, moving the extra pillows off of the bed. Once she's done, she lays in bed and looks over at her book bag. Shawn had gotten her everything she needed for school before she'd arrived. She has to start at a new school the next day with people she didn't know, and she has a weird feeling that something is going to happen. What worries Maya is that she isn't sure if it was going to be good or bad.

* * *

"We are very happy to have you here, Maya. I'm the principal, obviously. My name is Mr. Friar; me and your mom were friends in high school," the man tells Maya.

All Maya can do is nod; she'd never heard of a Friar from her mom.

"I can guess by the look on your face that she didn't tell you about me?" Mr. Friar asks her jokingly, but Maya can see from his eyes that he is hurt by this realization. They must really have been close.

"Sorry, she never talked about this place at all. I didn't even know she was from here until a month ago, but I'm sure she missed you," Maya said as a condolence, but for some reason she felt it was true.

"Your mom, Katy, was very dear to me, so if there is anything I can do to help make this transition easier, don't hesitate to stop by," Mr. Friar says with a smile and Maya gives him one back along with a small nod.

* * *

Riley weaves her way through the students in the hall with a large smile on her face. She begins to feel even giddier once she finally reaches Smackle.

"So, have you seen her yet?" Riley asks Smackle, who turns to look at her.

"Indeed, she got in yesterday," Smackle replies, pulling out her phone.

"And?" Riley pushes for more information.

"My apologies, Riley, I only saw her briefly. I am sure that we will know more soon," Smackle says with a hint of a smile. "Now, I must go meet Farkle for AP Physics. We shall see you later."

Riley smiles and leans against the lockers. This was it, they finally had her. Riley takes a look around the hallway and locks eyes with someone.

' _It's her.'_ Riley's mind supplies as she watches Maya open her locker. It's when Maya glances back over again that Riley realizes she is very blatantly watching her. Looking more or less like a deer in headlights, she turns around and walks to class.

Maya tries to act like the pretty brunette staring at her didn't bother her when she pulls again at the lock that won't open.

"Uh, new girl, right?" Someone asks from behind her.

Maya turns around and is met with the sight of a tall boy with orange tinged hair holding his hand out and standing beside the girl she'd seen next door. She reaches out to shake hands and when their hands touch Maya feels a spark of...something. When she sees that the boy has no reaction, she ignores it.

"I'm Farkle," he tells her. "The locks are tricky; just gotta tug really hard the first time," he says. He puts his hand on the girl's shoulder. "This is Smackle, my girlfriend."

Maya pulls again and, much to her surprise, the lock clicks open. She turns around and smiles brightly at the boy. "Thanks for the tip. I'm-"

"Maya Hart," Farkle says. When he catches her look of confusion he clarifies, "Sorry, I know your uncle. Well, my dad knows him. This town is really small."

"Oh, okay, had me worried for a second," Maya says as the warning bell rings.

"We gotta get to class, but everyone hangs out at The Boathouse. Farkle and I can meet you there after school, on the waterfront; you can't miss it. You should stop by and we'll show you around, or at least tell you about around." Smackle says before heading off down the hall.

' _Maybe this won't be so bad,_ ' Maya thinks with a smile.

* * *

Maya is standing in The Boathouse looking for Farkle and Smackle when she hears someone say "You have to be Katy's girl."

Maya turns around to find a man standing behind her with a dazed look in his eyes. "Uh, I'm sorry...what?"

"I see it; you look just like Katy."

"My name's Maya," she says, trying to understand what's happening.

"I heard about your mom's accident. I'm sorry," he says with a gulp and walks away. She follows him to where he stops at the counter.

"You knew my mom?" Maya asks him.

"Oh, for sure. I…." The man looks like he's thinking about whether or not he wants to say something. "I had a friend who loved her," he tells her as he pours a cup of coffee.

Maya laughs a little bit. "How'd my father feel about that?"

"He, uh...he didn't like it. But not to worry, your mom chose him; my brother was no threat to them," the man says, laughing "But, you know, he'd always go on and on that it was written," he adds cryptically.

"What was written, if you don't mind me asking?" Maya says, intrigued and worried about this man.

"Just that our families are written in the stars, destined to be together. It's been that way for centuries."

Maya's eyebrows knit together. Who was this guy's brother?

"Daddy, do you know when the order of crabs comes in?" A girl behind the counter asks. Maya recognizes her as the girl she'd seen staring at her in the hallway earlier that day. "You know we need to have it before the big school party in a few weeks."

"Right, right, sorry. Uh, I think they said in two weeks. This is Katy's girl, Maya," he says with a smile as he starts to walk away.

The girl does a combination of a laugh and a sigh. "Hi, I'm Riley," she says with a huge smile on her face.

"And you already know I'm Maya. So, your family owns this place?" She asks Riley.

"Yup. Well, my dad does. My mom is.…" Riley trails off, her smile losing some brightness, but it's back just as quickly as it went. "Sit down wherever and I can bring you a menu."

Maya nods and gives a thumbs up before turning to find a seat. Riley smirks as she watches her for a moment before remembering she'd said she would bring her a menu and grabs one before rushing over.

"So, I saw you at school. Was your first day good?" Riley asks excitedly. She needs to get Maya to befriend her.

"Well, it's not exactly over yet, but when it is I'll call you." Maya says with a shrug.

Riley chuckles. "Right, sorry. I'll be back soon."

Maya is taking a sip of water when two people climb into the seats across from her. She looks up to find a boy with golden-blonde hair and another boy with dark skin smiling at her.

"Hi, sorry to intrude, but you're the new girl, right?" The boy with the golden hair asks her with a smile.

"Uh, yeah, that's me. Maya Hart," she says with a laugh.

"Well, I'm Lucas and this is my friend, Zay," Lucas introduces them, and Maya quirks an eyebrow at their names.

"We're friends of Riley's. The girl who's dad owns this place," Zay explains to her.

"Oh, okay, nice to meet you guys," Maya says.

"Sorry about your mother," Lucas says. "Where's your dad?"

"Thanks," Maya says, "and...he died not long after I was born."

"Ah, my mom died like that too, but my dad's still alive," Lucas explains a bit sadly.

"You've probably met him. He's the principal of the school," Zay tells her.

"Oh, yeah, I did meet him. He seems nice," Maya says. "I have to go, though, so I guess I'll see you guys later." She slips out of the booth, pays for her drink, and makes her way to her car.

"Dude, I don't think she knows," Zay tells Lucas apprehensively as they watch her get into her car through the window.

"She may need a nudge. Give her a push?" Lucas suggests.

Maya is sitting in her car when she gets the uncomfortable feeling of her skin crawling as if someone were watching her. She has other matters to focus on, however, because the engine doesn't seem to want to start. She sees smoke coming out of the AC vents and screams. She frantically tries to push the door open to no avail. She tries to unlock it and when that fails as well, she reaches over to the passenger side door just as the car engine is engulfed in flames. She screams again as she keeps trying desperately to open the door.

"Help! Somebody help me! I can't get out!" Maya is screaming and choking on the smoke. She can feel tears streaming down her face as it dawns on her that she can't escape.

Back inside, Lucas stands and watches anxiously. "Put it out, Maya. You can do it."

In the meantime, Riley had noticed the commotion and raced outside to attempt to pry the door open as Maya beats at the window. When she can't get the door open, Riley turns to stare intently at the flames, willing them to go away. Maya watches her with confusion, but the flames go out and Riley opens the door, catching Maya as she falls out, coughing. Riley holds onto Maya bridal style.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Riley asks her looking, into her eyes before they both turn to look at the car.

Riley switches her attention back to Maya and sits her down on the back of her own car before plopping down next to her.

"I just don't know how it happened," Maya says.

"It just...caught fire," Riley says, not knowing what to tell her.

"Hey, what happened? Are you alright?" Farkle says, running up to the two of them with Smackle by his side..

"Yeah, we're fine. I think her engine blew up, or something like that," Riley tells them.

"That looked like something else, though. Just flames, no combustion," Maya says, shaking her head.

"Wow, that's crazy," Farkle says. "Well, I'm glad you are okay, Maya. I thought Lucas and Zay would be here," he adds.

"They were; I met them earlier," Maya says as Riley notices the two in question pull out of the parking lot in Zay's car.

"Riley, as her car is no longer in use, maybe you should drive her home?," Smackle suggests.

"Yeah, come on, Peaches. I'll get you home safe and sound," Riley says, motioning with her head for Maya to get in the car.

When they finally reach Maya's house, there is a comfortable silence in the car, but Maya breaks it.

"I'm thinking it was destined to go kaput, anyway. I did just drive it here all the way from New York," she says with a laugh.

"That's like 3,000 miles!" Riley says, shocked. "But yeah, I'm sure that was it. That's a long way."

"The one thing that gets me, though, is that for some reason the doors wouldn't open," Maya says shaking her head and pursing her lips.

"Hmm. Maybe they, like, froze up when the engine caught on fire?" Riley suggests.

"If you say so," Maya says, still skeptical.

"Well, Maya Hart...how was your first day?" Riley says seriously, until Maya gives her a flat look and they both burst out laughing.

"Hey, uh, by the way...I heard my dad talking to you. Don't worry about his brother; my uncle died a long time ago, but my dad doesn't believe any of that stuff, so no need to fear," Riley tells her, laughing.

"He's nice, I don't mind it. Thanks for driving me home, by the way," Maya says as she gets out of the car.

"You're very welcome!" Riley chirps and waves goodbye before driving away.

* * *

Later in the evening, Farkle stands outside of Lucas' house, waiting for someone to answer. Mr. Friar pulls open the door and gives him a bright smile.

"Hi, Farkle. What do you need?" Mr. Friar asks him.

"Is Lucas here?" He asks him, a small frown on his face.

"Right here!" He hears Lucas call from inside the house. "I got it, dad."

Farkle nods to tell Lucas to shut the door behind him and Lucas rolls his eyes, but complies anyway.

"Lucas, what did you do to Maya's car?" Farkle asks sternly.

"And you think I had something to do with it because?" Lucas asks expectantly.

"Did you?" Farkle asks knowingly. He shakes his head as a smirk forms on Lucas' face, "That was so stupid and reckless. You could've been caught."

"Come on! I was testing her so we'd know if she's the real deal," Lucas tells him. "All of us were wondering."

"Not only could you have hurt her, but if she'd died we wouldn't have a sixth member," Farkle reminds Lucas.

"It's not like I meant to set the car on fire. That was all her. Her energy and my energy coming together did that. Now, I know that the things you said about the circle, are true. We have _power_ now. More than before, a lot more." Lucas says passionately.

"I know, but we need to be more careful than ever. We may have more power, but we can't control it nearly as well as even what little control we had before she came." Farkle says, not trying to push Lucas too much.

"Solution: we tell her all about us being witches and that we need her," Lucas says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Her mom just died, Lucas! She needs time. We can't just throw this at her," Farkle said, attempting to remain calm. "Everyone agreed we would give it time."

"No, Farkle, we just nodded with you."

"Lucas, if you insist, we will take a vote tonight at the House, midnight. Remember to not get caught this time," Farkle sasses, referring to two days ago when Lucas got caught sneaking out.

Lucas sneers and then smirks. "I'll tell Zay; we'll go together. I guess Smackle, Riley and you will all go together?"

Farkle nods and walks off the porch. He's nearly in his car when Lucas calls out to him. Farkle looks at him and motions with his hands to tell him to speak.

"Just remember that this vote will be final."

Farkle slams his door shut with a scowl and drives away.

* * *

Maya is lying in bed at the time the word spreads through the circle of the meeting. Unable to sleep, Maya sits up and rakes a hand through her hair. She decides she can't sleep yet and wonders if a tub would calm her nerves. The day was weird, much weirder than she had thought. When she told Shawn about what had happened with the car, he said he was just happy she was okay and told her that since he works from home she could use his car to get to and from school until hers is fixed.

She still couldn't believe that her car just caught on fire. She'd imagine someone messed with it but she has literally been in town about thirty-six hours. Maybe she was just on edge, but Maya always trusted her instinct and this time it was blaring. Something was off about this town. She could feel it.


	3. A drop of water (as light as air)

Riley slips out of her room, holding her shoes and purse, one in each hand. She glances down the hall, to where her father's room is. She is checking to make sure the light is still off and that she is in the clear to sneak out. She slides with her socks on the hardwood floor until she reaches the Boathouse area. When she reaches the bar section she tiptoes towards the door. Riley turns the handle slowly and slips out the crack she makes.

Just in time apparently, because she sees Farkle's car pull up and come to a stop, right at the parking lot entrance. She slips her shoes on and runs to his car. She slides into the back seat with a relieved sigh.

"Remind me again, why can't you pick me up at the door?" Riley whispers to Smackle and Farkle.

Smackle answers with a smile, Farkle too focused on not driving too fast, "Riley, dear, you don't need to whisper."

Riley blushes and shrugs, "I forgot."

"I can't drive on the gravel, it would make too much noise. Which would wake up your dad. Then we would all be in some serious trouble," Farkle explains, pulling the car away at a normal speed towards The House.

Once there, Farkle parks the car and the three of them head through the brush. It only takes a few minutes and they go right to the room to wait for Lucas and Zay. They don't have to wait long, Luas and Zay come in a minute after them.

"Okay, so I heard we're here to talk about Maya," Zay says, plopping down on a chair.

"Yes, Lucas thinks we need to have a vote on whether we tell Maya everything sooner, rather than later," Farkle says.

"Are we voting right away, or are we going to discuss it?" Lucas asks him.

Riley speaks, "I'm pretty sure all of us already know what we think we should do and that we aren't going to change our minds."

All of them look around to each other and nod, as if to say 'I'm not changing mine'.

"Fine, all in favor of telling Maya everything after school tomorrow?" Farkle says, to which Lucas, Zay, and to his surprise, Riley raise their hands.

"I'm sorry Farkle, but we saw her car today. We need to be able to control this as soon as we can. Not to mention she didn't believe anything I said about her engine probably just breaking," Riley says apologetically.

"Three against two, tomorrow after school it is," Lucas says with a smirk.

"I understand ratios, Lucas. Tomorrow is Tuesday, so we all let her have her day, just as a normal one. Then, afterschool, I will bring her here. But that is only if she is even willing to come," Farkle says.

"That works for me, and I'm tired so can we…," Zay says, moving his hands to say hurry up.

"I agree, I think that works, then we don't have to miss any school," Riley says, ignoring what Zay had said.

"One question," Zay says, and everyone turns to him again, "Are we telling her about how one of us set her car on fire, cause it wasn't me," He continues, pointing a finger at Lucas.

"That depends on how well she takes the other news," Farkle suggests, to which everyone agrees with him.

Realization dawns on Riley's face, "Wait, who did do the fire then?" Riley asks before she turns to Lucas with a frown, "Lucas! How could you?"

"Riley, I already talked to him," Farkle sighs, as he walks to the door, "We should go, we have school tomorrow and it is 1 A.M. The later we are out the more suspicious people will be of our cars," He says looking at Lucas, who didn't go right home a few times.

"At least someone listens to me," Zay says as they all shuffle out.

Maya spends her entire day on edge. She can feel eyes one her, and while she knows people are looking at her cause she is new, something is _off_ about it. She feels like some people are looking at her for another reason. It makes her skin crawl and her heart beat faster. During lunch, she went to her locker and had trouble with the lock, again. She got the distinct feeling of someone watching her, but she was alone in the hallway. She heard a loud _bang_ from down the hall. She felt her heart rate spike and fear go through her. She heard a click, and she found her lock, unlocked.

She shook her head and turned the corner, once more trying to get rid of the thoughts. Not paying attention she runs into someone else.

Yelping, Maya quickly apologizes to the man in the suit, "Sorry sir, I was watching where I was going."

"Not a problem, say are you Maya Hart?" He asks her and she frowns a bit, why does everyone here know her?

"Yeah?" Maya confirms, more of a question than a statement.

"I'm Stuart, your mom and me were good friends as teenagers. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened," Stuart says shaking Maya's hand.

Maya's mouth forms a half smile, feeling some good come out of moving here, "Thank you."

Maya sees Farkle jog across the street to where she stands with Stuart. "Maya, I see you met my father," He says, giving his da a one armed hug.

Maya just nods in response.

"I must get going, nice to meet you Maya. Farkle, I'll see you at home. Try and stay out of trouble you two," Stuart says laughing, walking past Maya.

"Feeling any better today?" Farkle asks her.

"Eh, I've been better," Maya tells him.

"Is there any way I could help?" Farkle says offering support.

"Yeah actually, have you seen Shawn anywhere?" She asks him.

"I did, but I heard him talking, said he was going to see a friend," Farkle said remorsefully. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't even know," Maya says, beginning to walk again.

"Hmm, some people say I'm good at this, so try me," Farkle tells her, falling into step next to her.

"Got a clue on how my car magically burst into flames?" Maya says raking a hand through her hair.

She doesn't see Farkle stop and his eyes go wide before composing himself and saying, "Nope, but I am positive a mechanic would," he promises laughing off the magic comment.

"Another crazy thing to add to the list of crazy. I swear something is… off about this town. My car setting fire, curtains," She says, ranting, once she realizes what she is saying she feels bad. "Sorry, sorry this is so not your problem," and Maya starts to walk away faster.

She only gets a few feet before Farkle groans. "Wait, Maya, I think I can help," He tells her.

Shawn is outside the Boathouse and he decides it's a good a time as any to go in to talk to Cory. Sighing he enters the restaurant and spots him over by the coffee machine filling it up.

"Cory, hey," Shawn says smiling at him and sitting on a stool.

"Shawnie!" Cory shouts, reaching over to give him a hug. "What do you need bud?" Cory asks him, a huge smile painting his face.

"I'm guessing you heard, or even saw Maya's car yesterday?" Shawn asks him.

"This is gonna be a serious conversation, isn't it?" Cory asks him and when Shawn nods, Cory motions for Shawn to follow him into the back room.

"Is Maya ok?" Cory asks him once the door is shut and locked.

"She's fine. The problem is with the actual fire itself, Cory," Shawn tells him, discontent marring his face. "It reminds me of something too similar happening a few years back. When all of us were fooling around."

Cory gets a lump in his throat and he says, "We know how that ended."

"Are the kids practicing Cory?" Shawn asks him.

"No, of course not," Cory says offended. "I'm sure they don't know anything."

"Are you sure?" Shawn asks Cory as he stands up and gets closer to whisper.

"Yes, I am around them all the time. And if I see anything, I'll tell you immediately."

"Thanks, because you remember us as teenagers. We could get away with anything."

"And that is what's worrying you," Cory states. Closing his eyes and sighing.

"We can't let what happened to us 16 years ago happen to them. We can't let them make our mistake of ever even starting in the first place," Shawn insists.

"We won't," Cory agrees.

Farkle drives them through the woods, and it is starting to worry Maya. He already promised she would get answers at the place they were going. The parking, and heading into the woods even further doesn't help to calm her nerves either. Apparently, where they were going was the creepiest house in existence. Maya follows him up to the house, and through a hole in the wood barricading the bent door. She sees leaves and dirt all over the floor and she coughs at the smell of rotting wood.

"Farkle, what is this place? Why are we even here?" Maya asks, her question is ignored with a simple 'Come On' from Farkle.

Despite this she follows him up the steps and into a large room. In the room there is four people, all she has met. Lucas is sitting on a table, Zay sits next to him in a chair, Riley is tending to a plant, and Smackle who was sitting in a hammock reading.

"What is going on?" Maya asks them all.

"We wanted to explain to you," Riley says, abandoning the plant in favor of moving closer to Maya, next to Farkle.

"I didn't want to tell you this so soon-," Farkle begins to say but is cut off by Lucas.

"But the rest of us agreed you have a right to know."

"A right to know what?" Maya asks, trying to search for an answer on all of their faces. She frowns and turns back to Farkle.

"Who and what you are," Farkle says, looking much too serious for Maya's comfort levels.

Maya looks scared and weirded out as she backs up from Farkle, Riley, and Smackle. "Ok, this is getting really weird and…"

Riley takes a step towards Maya, "You really don't have to be scared, you are safe with us," She says, and Maya wants to believe her.

"Then can somebody, anybody, tell me what is going on with all this cryptic bullshit!" Maya says raising her voice at them.

Farkle sighs and nods his head, "This is going to sound crazy, but trust me. Your car setting on fire yesterday…," Farkle stops talking, "I don't know how to say this. We are different. You are different."

Lucas rolls his eyes and hops off of the table and goes towards Maya, "If no one is gonna man up and say it, I will. Look Maya, you're a witch. A full-blooded, magic wielding witch. In fact, all of us are."

Maya's eyes get wide, as Lucas smirks at Farkle and says, "Now, was that so hard to just tell her?"

"This is…," Maya breathes out.

"Crazy? Yeah, we know," Zay tells her.

"Maya, I know this sounds like a joke or something but our ancestry goes back into the mid 1600's. They are all a part of a legacy," Riley says, trying to calm Maya down. They all know what could happen if she lets her emotions run loose.

Maya huffs and says, "You want me to believe I'm a witch?"

"Just like your mom and dad, and their parents, and so on and so forth down the line," Smackle tells her diffidently.

"Stop! I know you guys are playing a prank on me and I won't stand for it!" Maya yells, her voice slowly raising in volume.

"Maya you really need to calm down," Farkle says, but stops and grabs a book from the table Lucas had been sitting at, "Everything is in here. It's a Book of Shadows, each witching family has one. It's like a journal, it explains the family line, who is in the circle, and it has thousands of spells. This one belongs to Smackle's family."

Maya rubs her face with her hands, trying to calm down. She wants to believe them because it is giving her an explanation for everything that has happened.

"We've practiced, but without an entire circle we can't do many," Riley tells her.

"Only stupid ones," Zay says in distain.

"Like…," Smackle starts, "Opening curtains…"

"Unlocking things," Zay says.

"Does this include setting cars on fire?" She says glaring at the members of the group.

"I'm sorry about that by the way. It got a tad out of hand," Lucas says trying to brush it off and Maya looks at him with a quirked eyebrow.

"See a full circle is six people," Riley says and Maya whips her head to look up at her. "But they need to be from six specific families."

"Maya, you are our last member, from the Hart family," Smackle tells her with a content smile, "You complete it."

"And with you, we have more _power,_ " Lucas says with a smirk.

"There is a ritual that will bind our circle," Farkle says, then adds, "It will help control the power.

"You know, this is seriously a sick joke." Maya says angrily and turns to leave but Lucas blocks her, "Get out of my way."

"Stop acting like you don't believe us," Lucas says holding onto her shoulder, "You can feel that it's true."

Maya gets closer to Lucas' face and glares into his eyes, "What is true, is how crazy you and insane you are."

"Hey," Riley says, not wanting a fight to break out, especially because Lucas is at least 9 inches taller than Maya.

Lucas' gaze cuts to Riley, "We can't just let her leave. She could tell her uncle!"

Farkle swallows the hard lump in his throat and steps close to the two and warns Maya, "No one can know about us, not even our families Maya."

Maya pulls her arm out of Lucas' grip and shouts, "Fine!" As she darts past Lucas and out of The House. She only stops once she can no longer see The House behind her and stands, realizing she doesn't remember how they got there in the first place.

"Maya! Maya, wait!" She hears Riley call and a split second later she appears out of the way Maya had come. "It really isn't as out there and crazy as it seems," Riley tells her.

"I think it is. You are all insane," May says taking a step backwards.

Riley takes a step closer, "No, we aren't. Our parents had a circle too! It started as six but then it grew, it got bigger."

Maya turns to her and holds her head, "Do you hear what you are saying? My mom wasn't a witch, I would have known, she would have told me," Maya says, holding her ground.

"No, you wouldn't have, because we didn't. Everything was covered up, Maya. All we know is that 16 years ago, something went wrong and a lot of people died," Riley says walking closer, so there was only a few feet between them, "They were killed, so they got rid of witchcraft, they banned it."

Maya looks incredulously at Riley, "I don't believe you."

Riley's face falls into sadness and she says quietly, "You aren't the only one who lost a parent, or even both, Maya. All of us have."

Maya looks taken aback for a second and she loses the steam for her anger, "There is no way that witches and magic are real. I just… I can't believe it."

Riley frowns and looks around to the trees and bushes, a lightbulb goes off in her head and she looks at Maya. "Let me show you," Her face has a smile on it again and it makes Maya's heart flutter. Riley walks over to a fallen tree and picks up a stray leaf. It had water droplets on it and she carefully carries it to Maya. "Here," She places the leaf onto Maya's flat palm and giggle and Maya's 'are you for real?' face.

"Just trust me. Close your eyes," Riley tells her and Maya looks concerned but sighs and does as she was told. Riley's voice gets calm and serene, "Concentrate on how your hand and the leaf are connected, and how the leaf is connected to all the water. Say 'A drop of water, as light as air' and keep repeating," Her voice gets softer as she speaks, staring at Maya's face.

"A drop of water, as light as air. A drop of water as light as air. A drop of water, as light as air," Maya opens her eyes and shrugs, "I don't feel it."

Riley sighs and moves her hand to hold underneath Maya's. "Do you feel that Maya? The tingling when our hands touch?" She takes a small step closer to Maya.

Maya nods, at a loss for words.

"It's our energy, our magic connecting," Riley whispers, "Try again."

"A drop of water…," Maya says closing her eyes and Riley joins her, "… as light as air. A drop of water, as light as air."

A water droplet off the leaf slowly starts to get pulled upwards, stopping where the two girls eyes' meet when they open them. Maya's mouth falls open and she gasps softly.

"Are you doing this?" She asks Riley, who shakes her head and follows the droplet with her eyes. Maya watches Riley's eyes widen as she looks around them.

Riley smiles as she looks around them to find hundreds and hundreds of drops of water in the air, still, around them. "We are," Riley looks up and laughs, "This… this hasn't ever happened before," She turns to look at Maya and her eyes find Maya's lips. Maya's eyes are on Riley's and the two are drawn together, slowly creeping closer until Maya takes a step back and runs.


	4. What do we do?

Back in The House, Riley enters frowning and explains what just happened.

"You did magic with her?" Smackle asks.

"It was crazy, so much stronger than ever before. We didn't lift just one drop of water, we lifted hundreds," Riley marvels.

"This is exactly why we need to bind the circle," Farkle points out.

Lucas scoffs, "Are you kidding? I like magic, I don't want to rely on all of you to be able to do it," He says as he walks out the room.

"Where are you going?" Smackle asks him.

"Out to have some fun. We have actual power now," He says and turns away.

* * *

Maya is standing on the edge of the town. The place where the decks and piers meet the water. People are bustling everywhere, buying and selling things at the market. She sighs and stares out at the water. Looking at blurry boats in the distance. She doesn't notice Farkle coming up next to her until he puts a hand on her shoulder. She feels the tingling.

"Maya…," Farkle starts, "I get that this is really tough for you to learn, but…,"

Maya cuts him off, "I'm sorry but I said before, this is just too much."

"Please, it's a lot to accept. We all went through the same thing. I get it's harder for you. You just met us all."

Maya shakes her head and turns back to the water, leaning on the railing, "What happened to them, why didn't anyone say anything or tell me?"

Farkle sighs, "The accident 16 years ago was about a boat. A bunch of teens went to go party on it, there was a fire, people died. Anyone that died was part of the last circle. The one of our parents."

"Was… was my dad one too?" Maya asks, her eyes starting to tear up as lightning flashes in the distance.

All Farkle does is nod, "Except, we don't think it was an accident, Maya. I think that, it must have been a spell or ritual went haywire. That the ones still alive are hiding it from us. I don't think that they bound their circle. Maya, we can do amazing things with our powers, but we won't know if we don't try."

"I get it but my mom ran from here for a reason. She didn't want me to do any of this. I didn't even know about Chance Harbor until she died," Maya says a tear rolls down her face. "Why didn't she tell me, that there was a whole other life I could have lived, instead of constantly moving and being alone?"

"That's something I don't have the answer to, Maya," Farkle tells her, "And I can't tell you that I understand. I was born here, I grew up here, I had the circle around my whole life, and I wish you had the chance to," Farkle sighs. Maya sniffles a bit as lightning flashes and thunder roars.

Down on the longest pier stands Lucas at the edge. "Please sky, rain down on us all," He says with a smile. A loud crash of thunder and lightning gets closer and he smirks, _power._ Rain starts to pelt on the pier, on Lucas, on the market, and Farkle and Maya. "More!" The rain comes harder and Lucas laughs loudly.

People in the market are scrambling around, running indoors, and covering themselves with bags. Squinting his eyes, Farkle looks out to the pier, "What is he doing?"

Deciding he should intervene, Farkle starts to run down to where the pier is, he is halfway across when Maya darts off, following his lead. Farkle finally reaches Lucas and screams.

"Lucas! What are you doing?" He asks coming closer to Lucas.

"Isn't it amazing? We can do this, we can make it rain just because we want it to!" Lucas replies and Farkle shakes his head.

"Make it stop, this is dangerous!" He yells.

"No, it isn't Far-," Lucas is cut off by a giant lightning boat striking a string of lights on the pier causing it to shake. Farkle screams and falls down, slipping on the soaking pier.

Lucas runs over to him, "Are you ok?"

Farkle only says, "You need to stop it."

Lucas nods and moves to kneel next to Farkle, "Stop the storm!" The lighting and rain get louder and heavier and Lucas can feel himself start to panic. "I said stop!"

"Do it!" Farkle yells at him again.

"I… I can't, I lost control! Stop this storm!" Lucas futilely yells again.

Maya walks past them to where Lucas had stood before, the strength in her walk shocking them both, her face is set still. She stands at the edge calmly and closes her eyes, "Stop it now. Make the storm stop. Now." At the calm 'now' the rain and thunder get weaker until they are completely gone. Maya turns and walks to Lucas and Farkle.

"I said you were one of us," Lucas says, astonished that she was able to stop the monsoon.

"I don't want you to involve me. This just shows me it can be dangerous," Maya states, her tone sharp and walks away, down the pier.

When she is out of ear shot Farkle looks to Lucas, "You know, I almost had her agreeing to be a part in this." He looks disappointed as he leaves Lucas standing there.

* * *

Maya sighs as she walks around her new room. Too much happened today, too much to deal with, and too much to comprehend. She pulls out her phone and scrolls through old photos of her and her mom. Maya starts to wonder again why her mom wouldn't even leave her a hint to what she should do. A sharp pain goes through her hip as she knocks into the Tv stand. A book is knocked off and Maya sets her phone down to grab it. Her face morphs into confusion when she sees one of the decorative drawers on the stand seems, no longer decorative.

Maya peaks out the window to make sure Shawn's movie is still on and she pulls off the fake piece and sets it down. Reaching inside she feels a leather bound book and pulls it out. Once she has it, she pushes the fake piece back in its spot. Grabbing the book once more, she goes over to the bed and shuffles the pages. An envelope flutters out. On the front is written, ' **Maya** '.

She rips it open quickly and pulls out the old piece of paper inside.

 _My Maya,_

 _You finding this letter means that I'm gone and for_ _that I am so sorry. I didn't want you to have this life. I didn't want it for myself either, but destiny's not easy to run from. I hoped that by never telling you of anything, it would somehow ensure your safety. My foolishness has done naught but put you in harm's way. You have power in you, my dear. People will come for it. They will come for you. I have no idea of the world you're going to encounter. But find your strength. And believe in yourself as I believe in you. Who you are is your greatest protection. You can't do this alone, but don't befriend the wrong people, Maya. The book will help you, please let it._

 _Forever, Mom_

Maya wipes her face as tears roll down, threatening to ruin the letter she holds. She can't be mad at her mom, she did what she thought was right. Maya is more mad at the world. For taking away her mother, leaving her alone, with the decision that could affect her path.

"I guess this is the Book of Shadows," She whispers to herself, turning the book over in her hands as she gets under the covers. Deciding to check out a few pages she opens and flips through the pages that only contain names.

"Mom, what am I going to do?" Maya asks herself as she reads the different spells, potions, and herbs she sees in the book.

* * *

Maya walks through the halls, searching for her chemistry classroom, the last class of the day. Spotting it she hears the teacher talking and slips in. He nods to her, and she glances around the room. Lucas and Zay are sitting together, middle of the room. Riley and Farkle right behind them. Maya ducks her head when Lucas makes eye contact with her and she sits at an empty station.

"… Make sure to mix exactly 200 milliliters. Remember these can be toxic, so where the goggles and please don't do what Jeffery did a few weeks back and drink the solution," She hears the teacher finish, luckily all instructions were on a sheet of paper at the desk.

Zay pours 200 milliliters of the light blue liquid into the beaker. He sees Lucas smirk and he groans, "What?"

"Let's give these new powers a try." He says and looks at the beaker, "Fire with no flame, bring me the heat." Zay smiles largely in astonishment as the solution starts to bubble, even though there is no fire turned on.

Maya looks over and frowns, but keeps her mouth shut and turns to her own work. When it starts bubbling, despite the fact she hasn't turned the fire on, she turns to glare at Lucas. Lucas scowls and thinks, 'More' and Maya hops out of her seat as her beaker shatters

Maya is filled with rage and glares at Lucas again, his own glass cracking and setting on fire. Maya turns tail and runs out of the room, not ready to face the fact that she could have hurt someone, that she can actually do that.

"I'll be back." Farkle says and runs after her, leaving a stunned Riley behind.

Maya makes it all the way into another hallway before she stops running and just walks when she hears footsteps. Farkle falls in step next to her.

"Wait a minute," Farkle says putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Farkle, I did that, I could have seriously hurt someone," Maya says leaning her back against the lockers. "I got mad and I… I set something on fire."

"It's ok, it was an accident. This is why I am pushing so hard for us to bind the circle," Farkle tells her quietly.

"Would it really help?" Maya asks looking up hopefully to him. Farkle nods and hums confirmation. "Then, as long as everyone else is in…" Maya says, trailing off when Farkle pulls her into a close hug. Maya pats the small of his back, as her arm is being crushed.

"Thank you, Maya. This means a lot. I promise it will keep us safer," Farkle tells her, letting her go, "Here, this is my number. Message me and I'll put you in the Circle's group chat."

Maya nods and says, "Yeah, uh thanks. I'm about to say something sappy but forget it after I say it. I really appreciate you trying so hard to protect your friends, I've never had that before."

Farkle smiles at her and motions to come on. Class is settled when they get back and Lucas gives her a smirk. She glares at him and plops in her seat, waiting quietly for the five minutes that class has left. When the bell does finally go off she stands up and waits until more people clear from the room to head out.

"Hey, uh, do you want to hang out?" Riley asks coming up next to her with a bright smile.

Maya can feel her face heat up, "Yeah, sure, what do you want to do?"

"Hmm, how about we go try out some…," Riley looks around her and leans down so her mouth is right next to Maya's ear and whispers, "Magic," Riley lifts her head and Maya immediately misses the warmth it provided. Shaking her head at the thought Maya nods.

"Was that a yes?" Riley asks laughing.

"Sorry, yes. Yeah I'd… you kind of have to show me the ropes a bit," Maya admits.

Riley hooks her arm in Maya's and nods, "Not a problem. Should we go to your house, my house, somewhere else?"

"Well, I'm still kind of new. It's only like my fourth day, so I don't know anywhere," Maya reminds Riley, "But we can go to my house, Shawn mentioned this morning that he would be out until dinner time," She says smiling.

"Great, where is your car?" Riley asks scanning the parking lot as they finally reached it.

"Follow me," Maya tells her.

* * *

Maya unlocks the front door and leads Riley inside.

"Do you want anything to drink?" She asks Riley as she tosses the keys into the key bowl. "Or to eat?"

Riley smiles, "Nothing yet," She says winking at Maya.

Maya wills her face to not heat up, to no avail, "We can go up to my room," She tells her as she head upstairs. Once they get to the room Maya says, "Sorry I don't have chairs, so we can just chill in my bed."

Riley's face is the one that heats this time as she thinks of all the innuendos that Maya could have said, "That works," She says as she sits gently on the edge of it.

Maya sits down opposite to her and asks, "So is Smackle the only one who's found her Book of…?" She acting as though she forgot what Farkle called it.

"Her Book of Shadows, and yeah. She found it on accident. Both of her parents died in the incident, she lives with her aunt. So when she decided she wanted to change her ceiling fan, her aunt didn't stop her, we think she didn't know that the book was in the ceiling. Farkle was over there changing the fan and the book smacked him square in the face." When she had said Farkle got hit in the face with a sad, pitiful voice Maya burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry but I am just imagining that."

"Don't worry, you should have seen Zay when he found out, he was laying on the forest ground crying, laughing so hard, cause Farkle got a black eye," She tells Maya.

"Wow, that's, wow." Is all Maya could think to reply, "So you mentioned that Smackle lost both her parents to the boat accident?"

"Yeah, she has lived with her aunt since she was a baby. My mom died, so did Lucas' and Farkle's. Zay lost his dad. My Uncle Eric died from it as well, the others have aunts and uncles who did too."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Maya says, putting her hand over Riley's and she can feel the tingles all the way up her arm.

"It's ok, I don't really remember her at all. My dad does though, when he does talk about her, you can tell they really loved each other. He talked like she was his world," Riley says, a sad smile on her face.

"At least he has you," Maya tells her, biting her lip and Riley gives her a bright smile.

"So why'd you ask about Smackle's book?" Riley asks her.

"Oh yeah, I may have found mine," Maya tells her insecurely.

Riley's smile grows even more and she launches herself at Maya, hugging her waist, and she accidently pushes her onto her back, still hugging her. "This is great! There must be so much that can help us in it."

Maya laughs and breathes in the scent of Riley's hair ' _honey_ ' Maya's mind supplies and Riley let's go of her and sits up. "Here," Maya says grabbing the book from under her pillow, handing it to Riley.

"Maya, do you know what these names are?" Riley asks her stunned.

"No, I skipped them to look through some of the spells, why?" Maya asks her leaning over to look at the pages.

"These are names of people in the circle generation before us," She says, "This is crazy, look, they all start out with the same six last names and then grow after that. Smackle, Minkus, Matthews, Friar, Babineaux, and Hart. It's like stepping back into history with these books."

"Yeah, I didn't think of it like that before. But, do you want to try a spell?" Maya asks her and she sees Riley's eyes light up. "Let's look for one."

They shuffle through pages of many spells before Riley abruptly stops flipping and point to a spell, "Stitch, thread, and seam change from current color to the desired color," Maya reads from the page. "Let's do it!"

"Should we do it on what we are wearing now or something else?" Riley asks.

"I think cause people saw us we should do something else. Let me grab something out of the closet," Maya tells her, jumping out of the bed and to the closet. She returns moments later with a large, dark red sweater and a pink crop top with a cat on it. "Let's do these!"

"Can I have the cat one?" Riley asks and Maya tosses it to her.

"Do you want to go first, I'm still really new to this," Maya asks, sitting back down on the bed.

"Sure, remember to feel the connection you have with the object. You don't have to touch it, cause the air can be a connection to something. You just need be able to control the energy in you," Riley explains to her as she lays the shirt out on bed and closes her eyes, "Stitch, seam, and thread change from pink to purple," Maya watches as the shirt doesn't change suddenly, instead it more or less shifts from pink to purple. Riley opens her eyes and smiles.

"You can keep the shirt," Maya tells her, raking a hand through her hair.

"Thanks," Riley says softly, smiling at her in a way that matches her tone of voice.

Maya smiles and lays her select sweater out, "Stitch, seam, and thread change from red to yellow."

The sweater does the same thing as the crop top, shifting from one color to the other.

"This is really cool," Rile says, touching the sweater, "It's going to be great once we bind the circle and try stronger things."

"Like what?" Maya asks her.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Riley asks in response.

"By try stronger things," Maya clarifies.

"Oh, well, there are spells that require an entire circle. Or ones we didn't have enough power to do before. Like, we couldn't charm things, or make potions. Because they both require the magical energy of either a very strong witch, or a fully bound circle. There are some spells that are used to charm jewelry. Anything from against fire, to an extent, and basically anything you want."

"That's… really cool," Maya says with a laugh, "You can make your own spells right?"

Riley nods her head, "Of course, Farkle actually made one because he didn't have a pencil sharpener. It was something like, 'sharpen to the point of perfection'. He said he uses it on tests so he doesn't have to stand up."

"Farkle is really a character isn't he?" Maya asks her, laughing once more at Farkle.

"Yeah, he is great though. Without him we probably wouldn't be as civil as we are in the group. Cause Zay and Lucas liked to cause more trouble than they do now before Farkle got the group to settle."

"Nice," Maya says watching Riley skim through the book further. "I should probably tell Farkle about this, huh?"

Riley looks up at Maya and nods her head. A piece of hair becomes untucked and it falls into Riley's eyes.

Riley begins to speak and Maya almost misses what she says, too focused on the piece of hair, "You know, Maya, I'm really glad that you agreed to bind the circle." She smiling brightly, her eyes twinkling.

Maya smiles back and says, "You have um…," She slowly reaches forward and brushes the piece of hair back behind Riley's ear and tucks it there. She doesn't know why but it is suddenly hard to breathe and the tingling of their magic is getting stronger every second Maya's hand is touching Riley's ear.

She doesn't know how long they have been sitting on her bed, staring into each other's eyes, but Maya knows she is drowning in the sea that is Riley's eyes. Riley on the other hand feels like she is flying through a bright blue sky as she looks into Maya's eyes. Riley isn't sure who is creeping forward slowly, but she thinks it may be both of them. They are inches apart, ' _just like in the forest_ ' Riley's mind supplies.

She sucks in a quiet breath as Maya's hand moves from her ear to holding her cheek. She slowly slides her hand up off the bed, moving it towards Maya's waist. Her fingers graze the fabric of Maya's shirt. Her hand is just about to grasp onto Maya when she heard the front door open and someone call up, 'Maya, you home?'

Riley is the one who moves back this time, a crimson blush working its way up her neck and to her cheeks. She can tell Maya has a blush as well, even as she calls down to Shawn, saying she is and that she has a friend over. Riley almost misses the shocked look on Shawn's face when he sees it is her that is over, almost. It almost doesn't make her feel like something is wrong.

* * *

Farkle is pacing in his room, Smackle is sitting on his bed deep in thought as well, and oddly enough Zay is there as well, sitting on the beanbag chair next to the bed.

"What do we do?" Farkle says as he stops pacing and throws his arms down, "And why don't I know what to do? I know everything," he says even more exasperated than before.

Zay cringes internally (and a bit externally) and sighs, "I could talk to him," He suggests.

Smackle and Farkle both frown at that, "We have to do this together, and you know he won't take just one of us seriously. And need I remind you Zay, you are the one who came to us for help," Smackle notes.

"Yeah duh, cause Lucas could've hurt someone today. You said binding the circle would help, and all this wild magic around is making me queasy. So I'm down. Lucas is a problem, like I said." Zay stands from the beanbag chair.

Farkle groans and glares at Zay, "Yes, thank you, we still don't have a way to convince Lucas do we?" He asks, glaring harder when Zay smiles.

"Actually, we might," Zay tells them, "Doesn't Lucas like Riley, and she is very persuasive."

All three of them glance at each other, uneasy, knowing this may be the only way to get the circle bound.


	5. Shall we be (Bound)?

Farkle is rushing through the halls of school, trying to locate Riley so he can ask her to persuade Lucas to bind the circle when he spots them. Riley and Maya talking and laughing to each other by Riley's locker. Sighing he walks up to them, towering over Maya.

"Hey, Riley, can I talk to you?" He asks her, trying to show how desperate he is in his eyes.

She must take the hint because she nods, and tells Maya she will see her later. Farkle pulls her to the outside seating area.

"What's so urgent, Farkle?" She asks him, a smile on her face, just like always.

"Smackle, Zay, and I may have figured out how we are going to get Lucas to agree to bind the circle," Farkle says and Riley's face lights up even more and he feels bad for what he is about to say.

"That's great, but I thought Zay didn't want to either," She says, her eyebrow quirking up.

"He said he didn't like all the wild magic around now that all of us are in the same place," Farkle explains.

"Okay, great! One down, one to go! So, what is the plan?" She asks, looking a bit more serious now.

"You aren't going to like it...," He starts and he can already see her face fall a bit, "We all know that you are very persuasive and that Lucas has a little crush on you..." he trails off, hoping she gets the point.

"Oh, so you need me to use that against him?" She asks a bit hesitantly. "How?"

Farkle breathes out a sigh, "We thought if you asked him to go eat after school and slipped it into the conversation maybe you could work your magic. Not your _actual_ magic but you know what I mean," He says.

Riley purses her lips and rubs the back of her neck, "Yeah... I could do that if it makes the circle get bound faster."

Farkle nods in agreement, "Look no is really comfortable with having you do this, but if it's the only way...," He says looking away. "It's okay, if it doesn't work we can see if Maya can persuade him."

He sees Riley's face twist into something he could only describe as jealousy. He gives her a smile and starts to walk away when she grabs his arm. He turns to look at her and she has a bright smile on once again.

"I forgot to tell you the good news!" She says happily.

"What news?" Farkle asks, his eyebrows coming together in confusion.

Riley glances around and leans in to whisper in his ear so no one over hears her, "Maya found her Book of Shadows," She half squeals in his ear.

Farkle's eyes widen as Riley moves her head away from his ear and he is grinning. "We have two?" He asks her in shock.

"Yup! And Maya's seems to be a lot bigger than Smackle's for some reason. We tried another spell and it was awesome," Riley is cut off by the sound of the warning bell ringing and she darts back into the school as she yells, "I'll talk to you later about it!" as she does.

* * *

It's the end of the school day and Riley had confirmed with Zay that Lucas would be coming out of football practice soon. So, she was currently standing in the hallway where the boys locker room was. She wrung her hands together and rocked on her feet, feeling slightly awkward at the fact she had to ask Lucas to eat.

As she sighs the locker room doors open and the football team piles out, laughing and rough housing. She spots Lucas immediately, laughing with a few of his friends. Gathering up courage she goes and taps on his arm. He turns around and his face lights up when he sees it is her.

"Hey, Riley what do you need?" He asks her, ignoring his friends jabs at his backs and the oohing and aahing from them.

She gives him her best smile, "We haven't hung out, just us in a while. I was wondering if you wanted to go eat," She says, giving him a little shrug as she twirls a piece of her hair.

She hears one of his friends whisper 'go for it dude' and she does her best to not let her smile drop into a frown.

"Yeah, that would be great! When do you want to?" He asks her and gives her a big smile.

"Is right now good with you?" She says, rocking back and forth on her feet again.

Lucas gets a pensive look on his face and points at the football team, "I promised the guys I would..." She doesn't get to hear the rest because one of the players cut him off.

"Nah man it's good, go out to eat."

He smiles and looks back to her, "Now works," He says with a laugh.

She takes hold of his arm, "Great! Let's go," She says and let's go of his arm to walk the opposite way of the team, towards the parking lot.

Lucas' team mates pat him on the back and give him nods as he starts to follow her. He quickly falls into step next to her.

"So, what brought this on?" He asks her, and for a split second she thinks her heart is going to stop.

Luckily she happens to think quickly in this situation, "Well, Maya showing up made me realize, we may all be in the circle but we aren't all exactly friends."

She gives him a small smile and crinkles her eyes. He just laughs in response as they leave the school and head down the many steps to the parking lot.

"You're right," He says walking over and unlocking his car. "What about your car?" he asks her as the slip inside of his.

"My dad drove me this morning," She supplies and the ride to the local diner is spent listening to the music on the radio.

They are seated quickly at the diner and have their drinks when she turns the conversation over to magic.

"So, Lucas, do you have any idea where your Book could be?" She asks him, taking a sip of her grape soda.

"I've been looking. The only place left is the garage," He says running a hand through his hair.

"That's good, Maya found hers!" Riley whisper yells.

Lucas' eyes widen in the same fashion that Farkle's did and he smiled. "That is great," Lucas said, yet it sounded somewhat sarcastic.

Riley stowed it away in her mind and focused on the task at hand, "Can I ask something?"

Lucas nodded to her as he told the waitress what he wanted, Riley following suit.

"Well, why don't you want to bind the circle?" She asks him, her eyebrows furrowing together as she thinks she deserves an award.

"It's the fact that I have to have someone with me whenever I want to do a spell. It would be like I don't even have my own magic anymore," He says with a frown on his face and is obviously upset or annoyed at her question.

She sighs and looks down as she makes her eyes tear up and says, "I get where you come from but," She says and looks up into his eyes, a sad smile on her face, "I'm just scared because what if what happens to our parents happens to us? Or if someone finds out because of all the free magic around we can barely contain. I mean we barely had control before Maya came, but now...," Riley trails off and looks back down.

She hears Lucas sigh and she mentally does a happy dance, knowing she has him hooked. She makes sure to keep her features the same so she doesn't give anything away.

"I guess I didn't look at it like that," He says and rubs the back of his neck.

"Yeah, you could do any spells with Zay," She suggests, "It's just dangerous for us all to not be bound."

The waitress walks over and hands them their food, Riley and Lucas both saying thank you.

Lucas blows out a puff of air, "I'll tell Farkle I'm okay with us binding the circle."

Riley's face breaks into a grin and she squeals, "This is great. All of us will be a lot safer now," She gives him a bright smile and digs into her food.

She misses the small smile Lucas gives her and the smirk he has on his face as he starts to eat as well.

* * *

Riley calls Farkle the second she is in her room with the door shut. She puts the phone on speaker as she gets into her work clothes.

"Lucas just called me," Is the first thing out of Farkle's mouth when he answers. He sounds happy.

She hears Smackle yell in the background a 'thank you' and 'this is wonderful'.

"I think we should do it tonight. Apparently we only had half of the incantation in Smackle's book. Maya had given me hers at the end of the day and I found the second half in there. All we need is the spell and somewhere to light a bonfire," Farkle explains and she can hear squeaking and clashing in the coffee shop part of their house.

"Great! What time? I'm about to start working so if anything knew pops up, please text me," She says and picks up her phone as she finishes pulling her hair into a pony.

"The incantation has to be finished at the stroke of midnight," Farkle tells her, and by his voice he seems hesitant.

Riley bites her lip, knowing this will be the earliest they have had to sneak out. "At least tomorrow is Friday. Text me when you get here," She says and hangs up, leaving her room and slipping her phone in her pocket.

She shuffles around the restaurant for an hour or two when a young Asian woman comes in and something makes Riley's heart stop for a moment. She composes herself and walks over to her.

"Hello, welcome to the Boathouse. Follow me and then I can grab your drink order," Riley says with a huge smile and as she sits the woman down she still feels... off.

"Thank you, Riley," She says and Riley's eyes go wide before she remembers she wears a name tag.

The entire time she is waiting on the woman something is making her skin crawl with uneasiness. She tries to make herself think it's just because she hasn't ever seen her before. It's as Riley is counting her tips at the end of the night when a slip of paper falls out. Frowning Riley picks it up and unfolds it. It's a number and the words ' I know, I am a friend' written on it have her picking up her phone and calling Farkle.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes," He says and the words are falling out of her mouth before he is even finished speaking.

"A girl was in here earlier and I was getting weird vibes, Farkle she left a note with her number and it says she knows but is a friend," Riley rushes out going to her room to change.

She can hear Farkle's intake of breath before he says, "Okay, don't tell anyone else. We do the ritual tonight, and we can deal with it tomorrow."

She bites her and twirls a piece of her hair and agrees.

"Yeah, if the person is dangerous binding will make us more protected, right?" Riley asks to confirm, still feeling a pit of uneasiness in her stomach.

"Yes, exactly," Farkle says and she hears mumbling, "We will be there soon." with that the phone line goes dead and she grabs her shoes to move through the Boathouse.

She is texting Maya and she uses her socks to shuffle around, she learns that Maya is getting a ride with her, Farkle, and Smackle. She slips her phone into her pocket as she reaches the door. Riley winces when the door squeaks a bit as she slips out of it.

Riley puts her shoes on and bolts across the gravel as per routine and hops into the car.

"So Farkle, how does this work?" Maya asks him as they pull away.

"It's just an incantation around a fire," Farkle answers her, "That goodness for your book or else we wouldn't know about the fire or the last piece of the ritual."

"That's good," Maya says and the ride is mostly silent the rest of the way to the abandoned beach near the forest.

Everyone is wracked with nerves as they make their way through the foliage to the sand and rock beach. Maya hears crackling as they get closer and she assumes Lucas and Zay have already arrived and built the fire.

She is proven correct as they break through to the beach and she sees Lucas and Zay standing there. She feels nervous as she walks towards the bonfire and moves the stand across from Farkle. She is closest to the water, standing between Riley and Zay. Next to Zay is next to Smackle and Riley is next to Lucas.

She glances around to everyone, when she meets Riley's eyes she is given a small smile as Farkle pulls out the paper that he wrote the full incantation on.

Farkle breathes in deeply as he starts, "Fire, Earth, Metal, Air, Water and Blood. By these elements, we bind the circle, and follow in the steps of our ancestors; who pledged themselves to fight against the forces of darkness. When evil assails us, when fear weakens us, when descent threatens us, in the circle we will find our power. We come to this place alone, but leave bound as one. With this oath, our journey begins together. Do you accept the circle?" Farkle's voice stays strong the entire time, conveying how truly big their next words are.

Maya closes her eyes and nods, "I do," as she says this so does everyone else, split seconds apart.

She stumbles back a step as the fire shoots up and grows bigger as the last 'I do' is said.

She can feel something in her shift and she wonders if everyone feels it.

"Is that all?" Zay asks, breaking the silence and Farkle nods. "Okay, I think we should go home, sleep, and let this settle." He suggests.

"Good idea, remember, we can't do magic alone anymore, so don't try. Who knows if it is dangerous," He says and he nods his head to the three girls for them to leave.

It's around an hour later, when Riley is laying in bed that she reaches over and picks up the piece of paper from the weird customer. She sighs as she wonders what it all means, and she turns over to go to sleep.


End file.
